A hearing over a protection-from-abuse order filed by the wife of state Rep. Joe Brennan will be heard after the criminal charges facing the representative are resolved, according to court records.

A hearing was slated for this morning on the PFA filed by Norma Brennan, but court paperwork indicates attorneys for both parties requested the hearing be rescheduled, upon the disposition of charges faced by 48-year-old Joe Brennan. Lehigh County President Judge Carol McGinley granted the request for continuance Tuesday.

Brennan's next court appearance, a preliminary hearing before Lehigh County District Judge Michael Pochron, is slated for Sept. 19.

Brennan, D-Lehigh/Northampton, was charged Aug. 15 with simple assault, harassment and drunken driving after he allegedly punched, choked and wrestled his wife to the ground on the front porch of their Fountain Hill home. Brennan left the home after the assault and was pulled over by police only a few blocks away. Authorities say his blood-alcohol level was a 0.20 -- more than twice the legal limit for drivers.

Gwin Krouse, attorney for Norma Brennan, said her client's temporary PFA will stand until the hearing is scheduled. The order prohibits Brennan from contacting his wife or children and evicts him from the couple's marital home.

"She's devastated by what has happened," Krouse said of Norma Brennan. "At this point, she's just concerned for her children. We want Mr. Brennan to get the help he needs so he can be a better dad."

He was slated to run against Republican challenger David Molony in November but said Wednesday, in his first public statement since his arrest, he was working to have his name removed from the ballot.

"Recovery is a daily struggle and one cannot afford to let his or her
guard down," Brennan said in a statement sent out by the office of state House
Minority Leader Frank Dermody, D-Allegheny. "As I continue this process,
it will be better for me and my family to not also have to deal with
the challenges of a political campaign."

Lehigh County Democratic Committee Chairman Rick Daugherty and Northampton County Democratic Committee Chairman Walt Garvin indicated a local meeting will be held in the next few days to find a replacement candidate. The state party executive board would have the final say on who is selected to run in November, officials said.